World’s first 600 km/h high-speed maglev train rolls off assembly line

China’s new high-speed maglev train rolled off the production line on Tuesday. It has a designed top speed of 600 km per hour — currently the fastest ground vehicle available globally.

Using electro-magnetic force, the maglev train “levitates” above the track with no contact between body and rail.

China has been using the technology for almost two decades on a very limited scale. Shanghai has a short maglev line running from one of its airports to town.

While there are no inter-city or inter-province maglev lines yet in China that could make good use of the higher speeds, some cities including Shanghai and Chengdu have started to conduct research.

At 600 kph, it would only take 2.5 hours to travel from Beijing to Shanghai by train – a journey of more than 1,000 km (620 miles).

By comparison, the journey would take 3 hours by plane and 5.5 hours by high-speed rail.

Countries from Japan to Germany are also looking to build maglev networks, although high costs and incompatibility with current track infrastructure remain hurdles to rapid development.

The new maglev transportation system made its public debut in the coastal city of Qingdao, east China’s Shandong Province.

It has been self-developed by China, marking the country’s latest scientific and technological achievement in the field of rail transit, according to the China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation.